Bryce Zabel's MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

Tropic Thunder (2008) -vs- Galaxy Quest (1999)

"Tropic Thunder" DVD Release - November 18

The Smackdown. Movies are already an illusion -- stories committed to film that feel real but, at best, are only an impression of reality.  With this Smackdown! we have a couple of competitors about real people playing characters in unreal film and TV projects who end up being taken as authentic by people who can, basically, kill them, and so they have to suck it up and act like the heroes they pretend to be. In both "Tropic Thunder" and "Galaxy Quest" (both from DreamWorks), things are not what they seem.  Could Ben Stiller actually fight his way out of a paper bag any more than Tim Allen could save the universe from world-destroying aliens?  Roll film...

The Challenger. You're shopping for something to watch, perhaps a comedy to flavor the mix of summer movies. You need something to cleanse the memory of "The Love Guru" and Eddie Murphy's latest misfire. Going back for another dose of "Hancock" won't do, and neither will another road trip with Harold and Kumar. Maybe try out a comedy that spoofs better than "Get Smart" and comes with a load of pre-release buzz: "Tropic Thunder." It's the latest from writer / actor / director Ben Stiller and will not escape some controversy for having Robert Downey, Jr. appear in black face.

Hellboy II (2008) -vs- Hancock (2008)

Editor's Note:  November 11 marks the release of "Hellboy II" on DVD and Blu-ray, including a special three disc edition.

The Smackdown.  It really is the height of narcissism.  Give a guy powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men and he can still manage to cop a bad attitude.  And while neither Hulk nor Iron Man can really be accused of harboring sunny dispositions, the leading men of 'tude in the summer of 2008 were a couple of anti-heroes on the extreme grouchy side:  Hellboy and Hancock.  Which one of these charm school drop-outs made bad look good?  That's the Smack and, believe me, this battle is not for the thin-skinned. 

The Challenger. Into the ring strides "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" with Ron Perlman reprising his devilish character from the Dark Horse comic. The original (like the sequel) directed and co-written by Guillermo Del Toro is a fish out of water story, and so is "Hellboy II."  A superhero's work is never done and Hellboy feels unappreciated. Maybe that's why he a little touchy. He's readily spotted on the street and can't catch a break. Most folks openly question Hellboy's motives. The main story in "Hellboy II" comes into play because a prince of the underworld (Nuada, Luke Goss) wants to take over topside. He unleashes a hungry batch of tooth fairies while stealing a portion of a golden crown. The full crown will allow the wearer to activate an army of mechanical warriors. There are complications: Abe the Fishman has a thing for the villain's sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton); the irritating Tom Manning (Jeffery Tambor) has a new cohort in Johann Kraus at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense; Hellboy is having relationship problems with his combustible girlfriend, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). All these elements come together to prove several points: Saving the earth is messy; those creatures you saw in your dreams are real, and the road to love (the inter-species type) is never smooth.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) -vs- The Amateurs (2007)

Decent Hard-Working Americans Who Play By The Rules

The Smackdown.  When the economy gets tough, the tough make porno.  That's the big "high concept" of our two films in the ring today.  Based on the news from Wall Street, better brace for an avalanche of nudity and meaningless sex.  Oh, well...

Popular culture and the movies give form to our preoccupations and anxieties. Okay, there's no explanation for "The Love Guru" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." Other movies effectively connect the dots on themes like politics ("W," "Syriana") and human foibles ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Knocked Up"). The newest release from Kevin Smith fits the formula in combining SEX with THE RECESSION for laughs.  "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" started a buzz with a trailer that doesn't contain a single frame from the film. It promises the sort of movie Smith produced over seven earlier features: engaging, funny and potty-mouthed. In this regard it echoes the spirit of writer / director Michael Traeger's well-regarded, but little-seen "The Amateurs."  It sets up a natural SMACKDOWN!: Which movie best captures the funny side of economic uncertainty?

The Challenger. Zack (Seth Rogan) works at a coffee shop, Miri (Elizabeth Banks) at a mall. By their own estimate, these platonic friends in Pittsburgh haven't set the world on fire. They can't meet the rent on the modest house they share and the utilities have been turned off. Over beers they brainstorm a turnaround: Let's make a porno movie! Their project gets off the ground, as Zack puts the touch on a co-worker for production money and they recruit talent for the shoot. "Star Whores" is about to begin production when wreckers flatten their makeshift "studio" for new condos. No problem: They move the production to Zack's coffee shop and rename the flick "Swallow my Cockaccino."
Along the way, a movie gets made. Zack and Miri learn about film making, and themselves. Kevin Smith wrote the script he directed.

Flash of Genius (2008) -vs- Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)

Underdogs Bite Back

The Smackdown.  Life and art did that thing they do as I drove through an Oregon rainstorm to the cineplex, mindful that my disc brakes and windshield wiper directly figure into this Smackdown!  "Flash of Genius" tells the true story of Robert Kearns, the little guy taking on Big Auto.  It's a fight that cost him 12 years and exacted a fearful price.  Every driver every rainy day is safer because of Kearns.  Audiences may think they've been down this road before and why not: Twenty years ago, Director Francis Ford Coppola test drove very similar elements in "Tucker: The Man and His Dream."  Elements of that dream keep us safe behind the wheel today.  Underdogs biting back -- which movie tells that story best?

The Challenger. Robert Kearns (Greg Kinnear) was an engineering professor in Detroit who wondered one rainy day: why can't a windshield wiper work as well as an eye lid -- not continuously, but when needed? His tinkering led to the development of the intermittent windshield wiper used on 150 million vehicles the past 40 years. The pausing wiper was that better mousetrap and Ford -- after failing for years to create a similar device -- simply drove off with it. Kearns wanted to produce the intermittent wiper, and just as importantly, he wanted the public recognition for inventing it. "Flash of Genius" retells Kearns' efforts to seek justice. It became a crusade that tore his family apart, had him institutionalized for a time, and left Kearns representing  himself in court against the Ford Motor Company. His opponent had money, time and inertia on its side. The trial went to the jury after 12 years, and if you remember "Rocky" you can guess how Kearns -vs- Ford came out.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) -vs- Knocked Up (2007)

Reality on the Side

Editor's Note:  Maybe with the stock market tanking, we need a little escape.  Tomorrow marks the release of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Unrated" on DVD and blu-ray.  Here's last April's Smack by critic Mark Sanchez to help you decide if it's likely to lift your spirits or drag you down further...

The Smackdown.  Goofy. Human. Hilarious with a large serving of sex. Using that recipe Judd Apatow produced or wrote a bucket of consistently engaging comedies the past ten years: Knocked Up, Freaks and Geeks, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Each delivers human-scaled stories about quirky, imperfect men and women dealing with personal issues that assume oversize comic dimensions. Each is separately memorable, but Knocked Up may lead the pack. This movie is, by turns, silly and dead serious in telling us about a career woman, her unlikely boyfriend and the baby she's having. Knocked Up strongly connected with audiences: Its six-month box office approached $150 million and its DVD enjoys a strong rental life.

Now, a new comedy bearing Judd Apatow's fingerprints hits the big screen: Forgetting Sarah Marshall. That's our Smackdown! Does it offer the same mix of oddly endearing gifts that make Knocked Up so distinctive? Has the recipe gone stale?

The Challenger.  We  see  a lot  of  songwriter  Peter  Bretter (Jason Segel) and  Bretter's  peter in the first few minutes. He's just out of the shower when his TV-actress girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell) shows up to end the relationship with Peter. She's found someone else. It's funny and uncomfortable as Peter struggles with the aftermath, cruising the bars and melting down at work. He can't make any progress on his side-project: a Dracula musical featuring puppets. At this point Peter takes a trip to Hawaii to get over Sarah, only you-know-who is checked into the same resort with Mr. Someone Else (Russell Brand). Along the way Peter connects with members of the Apatow Repertory Players (Paul Rudd, Jonas Hill, Bill Hader) and resort hostess Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis). All these recipe ingredients complicate the process of forgetting Sarah Marshall. The script Jason Segel wrote and Judd Apatow produced ties the loose ends plausibly while showing Count Dracula has a future in musical theatre.